Abstract

The main focus of this dissertation is on the reputation mechanisms of virtual learning communities implemented as peer-to-peer content sharing networks. The reputation systems modeled according to the Social Interaction Theory of Piaget and to the concepts of community and society introduced by Ferdinand Tonnies are the main contributions of the present study. The idea is to reach an effective deployment of virtual learning communities through peer-to-peer networks. The implementation of peer- ...

The main focus of this dissertation is on the reputation mechanisms of virtual learning communities implemented as peer-to-peer content sharing networks. The reputation systems modeled according to the Social Interaction Theory of Piaget and to the concepts of community and society introduced by Ferdinand Tonnies are the main contributions of the present study. The idea is to reach an effective deployment of virtual learning communities through peer-to-peer networks. The implementation of peer-to-peer networks in virtual communities raises several issues that should be noticed. The popularization of this concept due to the increase of content sharing by means of software such as e-mule and kazaa may be considered positive, but there are also limiting factors, as how to identify which material would be relevant for the content in question. Considering that the identification of origin and relevance is a key condition to the constitution of virtual learning communities, it is necessary to establish reputation mechanisms that approach such questions. The concept of value, the establishment of evaluation criteria for objects available, as well as the classification of agents that constitute the community are objects of study of this dissertation. This work takes place in an intersection area among Computer Science, Education and Sociology. The Social Interaction Theory, by Piaget, supports the Education area, Tonnies provides the support for the Sociology issues and, from Computer Science we take the support for the peer-to-peer networks approach. ...